In Hamid's latest novel, a finalist for the 2017 Man Booker Prize, two young people meet and find love during a time of great political unrest in an unnamed Middle Eastern country. As violence simmers and then explodes into war, they survey their options and make the difficult decision to flee the city, perhaps taking advantage of the rumored doors that open almost magically into other lands, like Syria or San Francisco. An evocative story improved by the restrained element of magical realism, and strongly reminiscent of The Underground Railroad. I recommend this book to Laura Tremaine in episode 68 of What Should I Read Next.

From the author of Exit West, an entirely different sort of novel, presented in the guise of a conversation: our Pakistani narrator Changez attended Princeton and worked in the U.S. for several years after. Now he's back in his native city of Lahore, telling his story to an American stranger at a café table. This novel made numerous Best Books of the Year lists and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.